Ducks Place Frank Vatrano On Injured Reserve
12:07 p.m.: Vatrano isn’t hurt; rather, he’s been placed on IR while on paternity leave, the Ducks said. However, center Isac Lundeström is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won’t play tonight, so Harkins will likely draw into the lineup. Vatrano
11:52 a.m.: Ducks forward Frank Vatrano is no longer on the active roster, per the NHL’s media site. PuckPedia indicates he’s been placed on injured reserve, meaning he likely sustained an undisclosed ailment in Anaheim’s overtime win over Utah on Wednesday. They’ve used his open roster spot to summon winger Jansen Harkins from AHL San Diego in a corresponding move, per the league’s transactions log.
It’s been a tough start to the season for Vatrano, who’s skated in a second-line role alongside Ryan Strome and Troy Terry but has nonetheless had his minutes reduced from last year. After scoring a career-high 37 goals in 2023-24 while logging 18:21 per game, the 30-year-old has only one assist through three games this season and is averaging 15:37 per night.
He’s struggled to generate chances offensively, only recording five shots on goal. It’s a tiny sample size, but that only projects out to 137 shots over 82 games after recording 231 and 272 shots over the last two years, respectively. Nonetheless, the Ducks are 2-1-0 with a +1 goal differential through their first three showings, even without many game-breaking offensive performances. Their start can be credited to strong goaltending in the early stages from Lukáš Dostál (two starts) and preseason waiver claim James Reimer (one start), who’ve combined for a .924 SV% and 2.32 GAA. Usual starter John Gibson remains on IR after undergoing appendectomy surgery almost a month ago.
Vatrano has been on one of the most value-laden deals in the league over the past few seasons. After signing a three-year, $10.95MM deal to join the Ducks as a free agent in 2022, he’s churned out 59 goals and 102 points in 166 games in Orange County. That’s good enough for 0.61 points per game, far above his 0.48 career average. The pending UFA could be one of the top names available at the trade deadline if Anaheim remains far away from playoff contention and gets his scoring back under him after he returns from what all sides hope is a brief absence.
Harkins, 28, signed a two-year, $1.58MM deal with the Ducks in free agency this offseason after an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign that saw him post just four assists in 45 games with the Penguins. It wasn’t surprising when he cleared waivers earlier this month. He had a goal and an assist in his first two games for San Diego this season after posting 12 points in 14 games during AHL assignments with the Penguins last year. The 2015 second-round Jets pick has 31 points in 199 career NHL games over the previous five years.
With 13 healthy forwards on the roster after the moves, there’s no guarantee Harkins will make his Ducks debut tonight against the Avalanche. He’ll likely sit in the press box and serve as last-minute injury insurance.
Jackson LaCombe Will Not Play Tonight
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews will not dress tonight when the team takes on the Boston Bruins (as per Avalanche play-by-play announcer Conor McGahey). The 30-year-old will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury as the Avalanche will be looking to get into the win column for the first time this season.
Colorado has started the year 0-3 as they try to overcome a growing list of injury concerns. They will be in tough against the Bruins without the services of Toews. Oliver Kylington will take Toews’s place on the top pair once again alongside Cale Makar, while Sam Malinski will likely occupy Toews’s spot on the second power-play unit.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe took the morning skate with the team but won’t play tonight as he continues to deal with an illness (as per Derek Lee of The Hockey News). The 23-year-old has yet to play this season as he will miss his third consecutive game to start the year. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native signed a two-year $1.85MM extension with the Ducks in July and will likely compete with Olen Zellweger for a spot in Anaheim’s defense core going forward.
- Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings scratched Jordan Spence tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Kings opted for a third pairing of Caleb Jones and Andreas Englund which is very telling given the commitment Los Angeles showed to Spence in the summer by signing him to a two-year deal worth $3MM. The 23-year-old has had an abysmal start to the season, getting pinned in the defensive zone regularly while struggling with turnovers. The Kings hoped Spence would claim a spot on their backend after Matt Roy departed to Washington in free agency, but his struggles have become too much for the Kings to ignore. Spence’s time in the press box will likely be short-lived though as the Kings are being throttled by the Maple Leafs tonight and are sure to make changes before they take the ice tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens.
Injury Notes: Celebrini, LaCombe, Zub
Reigning first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini won’t be joining the San Jose Sharks on their first road trip of the season shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Celebrini is still nursing a lower-body injury that landed him on injured reserve the morning after his NHL debut. He would be eligible to return before the final game of the road trip – Friday’s matchup against Winnipeg. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t rule out the possibility of Celebrini joining the team ahead of that matchup, though he added that the team is taking things day by day.
Everything clicked for Celebrini in his NHL debut, with his first goal coming just seven minutes into his career on a spin-o-rama pass deflected in; and his first assist coming just 10 minutes later on a connection with scoring-winger Tyler Toffoli. He’s taken well to the role of San Jose’s top centerman, a familiar statement for anyone who watched Celebrini immediately step into Boston Univeristy’s top center role last year. That season ended in BU pushing into the NCAA Championship Frozen Four semi-finals and Celebrini becoming the youngest Hobey Baker ‘MVP’ Award winner ever. The Sharks are far away from those levels of success in the NHL – but the precedent that Celebrini brings gives all the more reason to handle his first career injury with extra care. He’ll face the task of getting healthy before the week ends, to join the Sharks against the presently-undefeated Winnipeg Jets.
Other injury updates:
- Anaheim Ducks defender Jackson LaCombe missed his second consecutive game with illness on Sunday night, shares Derek Lee of The Hockey News. LaCombe was a late scratch in Anaheim’s season opener – paving way for Olen Zellweger to make his season debut, though Urho Vaakanainen who got the start on Sunday. Neither defender scored in their spot start. They’ll continue battling for ice time while LaCombe returns to form and – pending a breakout performance from Zellweger or Vaakanainen – an everyday lineup role.
- Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub left the team’s Monday game with an upper-body injury after a heavy first-period hit from Los Angeles’ Tanner Jeannot. Zub has taken on the role of third defender for the Senators, averaging 19:38 in ice time through the team’s first two games. He’s yet to find his first point of the season, though Zub has managed four shots, one penalty, and a +1. He faced multiple injuries last season, ultimately limited to 69 games and 25 points. He’ll be a locked-in top option when healthy, while an absence would open space for Tyler Kleven or Nick Jensen to earn more minutes.
Evening Notes: Gibson, Aube-Kubel, Bourdeleau, Vlasic
The Hockey News is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have placed goaltender John Gibson on the injured reserve. The move isn’t surprising given that Gibson underwent an appendectomy last week and was expected to miss the next 3-6 weeks. Gibson had been practicing with the Ducks during training camp but didn’t appear in any preseason action.
The 31-year-old was once a rising star in the NHL, but the shine on his game has faded in recent seasons which has coincided with the Ducks entering a long rebuild. Last season, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native had a record of 13-27-2 with a .888 save percentage and a 3.54 goals-against average in 46 games. He lost the net to backup Lukas Dostal in season, and likely wouldn’t have started opening night this season even if he was healthy.
In other evening notes:
- The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they’ve placed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel on the injured reserve after he suffered a lower-body injury in the Sabres opening night loss in Prague this past Friday. The move signifies that Aube-Kubel will likely be out for at least another handful of days as he is required to be out a total of seven days from his last game played. The 28-year-old signed a one-year deal with Buffalo in the offseason and will likely play on the Sabres fourth line whenever he does return.
- San Jose Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka tweeted that San Jose Sharks center Thomas Bordeleau remains out week to week with a lower-body injury. The 22-year-old got hurt during training camp and will likely miss the first few weeks of the season as he tries to recover. Bordeleau dressed in 27 games last year for the Sharks posting six goals and five assists and a -18 plus/minus. This upcoming season is a big one for Bordeleau as he should have an opportunity to establish himself as an everyday NHLer.
- Sharks’ veteran defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is also out week-to-week to start the season (as per Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka). Vlasic has been dealing with an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve today. The 37-year-old was one of the top defensive defensemen of the 2010s but has seen his play fall off a cliff in recent seasons and has arguably the worst contract in the entire NHL. Vlasic registered just six goals and six assists last season in 57 regular-season games and posted some of the worst underlying numbers in the entire NHL.
Ducks Claim James Reimer Off Waivers From Sabres
The Ducks have claimed netminder James Reimer off waivers from the Sabres, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
Reimer, 36, has over 500 games of NHL experience and was still serviceable in a rotation role for the Red Wings last year but was knocked squarely into a third-string spot on the Sabres’ depth chart behind Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after signing a one-year, $1MM deal there in July. He was largely expected to land on waivers unless Buffalo opted to carry three goalies.
While the veteran was solid enough for Detroit in 2023-24, his 20 starts and five relief appearances were both career-lows. His .904 SV%, 3.11 GAA, and 0.3 GSAA were all marked steps forward from the prior year’s showing with the rebuilding Sharks, however, and he’s still likely worth a shot as a full-time backup somewhere.
He’ll get that chance in Anaheim, at least for now. The Ducks were looking for a veteran name to add to the mix with John Gibson on the shelf to start the season after getting his appendix removed nearly two weeks ago. He’s still one to four weeks away from a return, meaning rookie Calle Clang (who has no NHL games played under his belt) was set to start the year as the backup to youngster Lukáš Dostál. After claiming Reimer, though, the Ducks can return Clang to AHL San Diego.
The Ducks now have their opening night roster set in stone at 13 forwards, eight defenders, and two goalies, assuming Clang is sent down. They’ll have $20.64MM in projected cap space after the acquisition, per PuckPedia.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/5/24
With the preseason winding up this weekend, final roster cuts will be made across the NHL over the next couple of days. We’ll keep tabs on today’s cut-downs here.
Last Updated: 4:45 PM
Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)
F Jansen Harkins (to AHL San Diego after clearing waivers)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)
D Cole Clayton (to AHL Cleveland)
F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to AHL Cleveland)
F Trey Fix-Wolansky (to AHL Cleveland)
G Jet Greaves (to AHL Cleveland)
F Hunter McKown (to AHL Cleveland)
F Owen Sillinger (to AHL Cleveland)
D Stanislav Svozil (to AHL Cleveland)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
D Lian Bichsel (to AHL Texas)
F Matej Blumel (to AHL Texas)
F Arttu Hyry (to AHL Texas)
Detroit Red Wings (per team announcement)
F Alexandre Doucet (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Amadeus Lombardi (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Jakub Rychlovsky (to AHL Grand Rapids)
G Gage Alexander (to ECHL Toledo)
F Ondrej Becher (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Hunter Johannes (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Josiah Didier (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carson Bantle (to ECHL Toledo)
F Gabriel Seger (to ECHL Toledo)
D Chaz Reddekopp (to ECHL Toledo)
G Jan Bednar (to ECHL Toledo)
F Tim Gettinger (to injured non-roster list)
D Shai Buium (to injured non-roster list)
Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)
D Daemon Hunt (to AHL Iowa)
New York Rangers (per team announcement)
F Ryder Korczak (to AHL Hartford)
F Brennan Othmann (to AHL Hartford)
Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)
D Calen Addison (released from PTO)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
F Emil Bemstrom (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
D Nate Clurman (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Jonathan Gruden (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Joona Koppanen (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
D Filip Kral (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
G Filip Larsson (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D John Ludvig (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Samuel Poulin (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)
D Akito Hirose (to AHL Abbotsford)
Washington Capitals (per team announcement)
D Ethan Bear (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
F Luke Philp (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
Waiver Wire: 10/5/24
With season-opening rosters due in just over 48 hours, it’s going to be a busy weekend on the waiver front across the NHL. A total of 14 players are on waivers today. The players below were first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link) unless otherwise specified. Meanwhile, Friedman relays (Twitter link) that of the 25 players on the wire yesterday, all cleared aside from John Ludvig who was claimed by Colorado.
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
D Kyle Capobianco
G Magnus Hellberg
F Cameron Hughes
F Kole Lind
D Alexander Petrovic
F Emilio Pettersen
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild (per team release)
New York Rangers
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.
Waiver Wire: 10/4/24
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
New Jersey Devils
F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman
Philadelphia Flyers
F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals
Cronin Seeking More Out Of Trevor Zegras
The Anaheim Ducks are looking for a bounceback year from forward Trevor Zegras after an offseason of trade rumors surrounding the youngster. In a lengthy interview with James Murphy of RG.org Anaheim’s head coach, Greg Cronin publicly called out Zegras to add another level to his game.
It may be a make-or-break year for Zegras as the young forward has struggled to respond positively to Cronin’s system. Zegras was limited by injuries in the 2023-24 season but only scored six goals and 15 points in 31 contests. The 2024-25 season will mark a transitionary period for the Ducks as the organization’s young prospects are fully expected to carry most of the responsibility. Zegras’ competition level in the upcoming season, or lack thereof, may lead Anaheim to pull the trigger on a trade.
- The Ducks will be without their first-line right-winger for the next few days as Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports Troy Terry is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. There shouldn’t be any concern about his availability for Anaheim’s regular season opener but he has not been on the ice for the past few days. Terry has been one of the most consistent forwards for the Ducks during their rebuild finishing first or second on the team in scoring over the last three years.
Waiver Wire: 10/1/24
28 players hit the waiver wire Tuesday, per PuckPedia. It’s a sharp increase from yesterday’s 12 names as more veterans are assigned to the minors later in camp. All of yesterday’s waived players cleared, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Today’s waiver placements are as follows:
Anaheim Ducks
Buffalo Sabres
F Joshua Dunne
F Mason Jobst
F Brett Murray
D Colton Poolman
D Jack Rathbone
G Felix Sandström
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
G Collin Delia
D Ben Gleason
D Philip Kemp
F Lane Pederson
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
New York Rangers
F Anton Blidh
G Louis Domingue
D Casey Fitzgerald
D Brandon Scanlin
Seattle Kraken
F Brandon Biro
F Max McCormick
F Ben Meyers
D Gustav Olofsson
F Mitchell Stephens
G Ales Stezka
Vancouver Canucks
F Phillip Di Giuseppe
G Jiří Patera
F Nathan Smith
D Christian Wolanin